Fearing The Reapers
by TheRecklessSyndicate
Summary: For a gamer reborn as a turian, life was never going to be simple.
1. Chapter 1

How would you like to hear a story?

That's a stupid question, isn't it? You're still reading this, aren't you? You're obviously expecting some kind of narrative.

See, this is one hell of a story, so you might want to get comfortable because this is gonna take a while.

You probably don't know for sure what happens after death.

If you're anything like me, you grew up completely indifferent towards the multiple theories of what happens after you passed on from this life. Sure, you thought about it every once and a while, but it was never anything that would occupy your mind for very long.

Who could blame you? Leave a question like that up to the philosophers. Easier that way, and will leave you with less of a headache in the long run.

That's alright. I was the same way.

At least until I was reborn into a video game.

And not just any video game either. This video game in particular was called Mass Effect.

Figures. I die and then immediately get reborn into a ticking time bomb of a universe. Someone had a sick sense of humor.

How'd I died? Well, it's kind of… Actually, I guess it doesn't matter now. What does matter is that before this story: 1) I was a human and 2) I was completely nondescript.

Seriously, I was one of those guys that could rob a bank in broad daylight without a mask and still have a decent chance of getting away with it. Just one of those people that you would meet and then immediately forget. The only thing remarkable about my life was that I was extraordinarily ordinary. Nothing special there.

Which raises the question of why I got reincarnated in the first place?

Truth is I didn't know. Like I said, I lived a very ordinary life. Not good, not bad. Just ordinary. You would assume that since I lived such an ordinary life, I should be born again into an ordinary life. Only I wasn't.

This leads us to point number one; I **was** human. Emphasis on 'was'.

In this life (if you really want to believe in this reincarnation business) I'm a turian. And not just any turian.

My name is Tyrus Vakarian. Older brother to Garrus and Solana. Son to Aetius and Tacita Vakarian.

Yeah, I was pretty freaked out too.

For any of you that know anything about the games (and I'm sure many of you do), Tyrus Vakarian was never mentioned. Not even once. That's because Tyrus Vakarian wasn't supposed to exist in any of the games.

Are you starting to understand my dilemma?

I shouldn't exist.

But I did.

It was all one big migraine that I've been dealing with since waking up to the shock of being born.

And let me tell you, it's not a pleasant experience, being born. The mind isn't supposed to remember those first few moments of life. The first time you breathe in cold sterilized air. So cold and shocking that it stings your lungs. The first time light hits your eyes, so bright and brilliant that it's blinding. First time someone wraps you in their arms, holding you close and cooing over your bawling form because you're only about six to nine pounds in weight and extremely, nauseatingly, helpless. And you're crying nonstop, because instincts kicked in and you can literally do nothing else, but cry and cry and cry…

It was downright traumatizing.

Coincidentally, that was around the time I decided that having kids was probably not for me.

I was a horrible little bastard of a baby too. I'm actually really surprised that mom and dad went on to have two more kids after me, especially since I was such a nightmare.

Garrus put up a fight. I'm proud to say that he hated being held almost as much as I did. Knew he was my brother. Of course Solana was the perfect baby girl. Kiss up.

I'm getting off track, aren't I? Sorry, where were we? Something about me being a demon child?

It wasn't completely my fault. Wouldn't you be a total mental wreck if one moment you were in absolute control of your actions and then the next you were floundering about with awkward, tiny, limbs that weren't your own? In a body that was definitely foreign? With terrifying aliens crowding around you, trying to get you to stop crying and inadvertently making you cry out all the more?

Don't lie to me, you'd be freaking the fuck out too.

It was wrong, I know, to be horrified by your parents and your own body, but I couldn't help it! We were pre-historic aliens with talons and sharp rigid plates and mandibles. My fear was justified. Of course, this led to some very disturbing encounters with mirrors for the first half of my life.

When my parents took me home, I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The fact that I'm sane is nothing short of a miracle. I didn't know where I was, when I was, or even who I was. All I knew was that one moment I was fully grown male human and then the next I was a tiny dinosuar-bird like thing with huge, terrifying, dinosaur bird-like parents.

That was, until, after a year of alternating between states of boredom and panic attacks. That's when I finally mastered my horribly odd ears enough to understand my mothers flanging voice as she cooed my name.

Tyrus Vakarian.

Vakarian.

As in turian.

As in Mass Effect.

As in _Oh damn._


	2. Chapter 2

So I was a turian.

In the Mass Effect Universe.

Things could have been worse, all things considered. I could have been reborn as an ant. Now that would have just been depressing.

Being a turian wasn't so bad. Sure, there was a lot I had to get used to, but I was alive. That was something.

Of course, being born into a universe with Collectors, indoctrinated spectres, insane biotics and nightmarish space squids that harvested the galaxy every 50,000 years of all organic life was not exactly ideal.

After coming to terms with the fact that I was now a turian and that rebirth was not as impossible as I once believed, the idea of starting a new life wasn't that bad. Sure, I missed my friends and family a lot; more than I ever thought possible. At times, it hurt to think about them, but at least I could rest knowing they'd continue on with their lives safe and happy. That was enough for me.

Now I just needed to get on with my new life.

First things first, I needed to be able to stand on my own two feet as soon as possible.

Maybe it was just the experience of being a baby again that motivated me. Or maybe it was the possibility of being annihilated by Reapers in some bloody and violent way that fueled my desire to be self-sufficient again. Either way, I resolved myself to becoming a capable member of this rough and tumble galaxy.

'Cause here, it was survival of the fittest.

Being a turian wasn't all that different from being human, once you got past the whole different culture, different social customs, different language…

Maybe it was a little different. Not that I could do much as a tiny turian toddler. It took me months to get at least a handle on my elongated limbs. The plates that covered my body were definitely different from normal human skin and don't even get me started on the language gap.

Turians used this odd form of communication composed of clicks and hums that held so many different meanings. The language, translated roughly in english was called Palavenian, and was composed of about a 109 letters and symbols. All of which were an ordeal just learning how to say. I'm really appreciative towards my mother for making a point of reading to me each night. Through the words of stories and her flanging voices, I learned how to speak and read fluently.

It took me a year before I somewhat mastered my native tongue. I'll be the first to admit that I was dismal at foreign languages. I was immensely proud of myself for being able to use Palavenian at all. Though it was strange. My mind and body seemed to fully adopt the language as it was being taught to me. The words came naturally, just like they would any other child learning a language for the first time. It made sense in a strange way. I **was** a turian even if I had the memories of a human past life.

It's a good thing that my vocal chords became accustomed to using the Palavenian vocabulary. It would have been real awkward to explain if I accidentally slipped into english.

And Mom was so proud when I started using full sentences.

I must have struck my parents as a very peculiar kid. I rarely talked, and when I did, it was usually to ask questions. I wanted to know everything about anything, but was forced to play the part of a mere inquisitive child. It drove me freakin crazy; wanting to ask so many questions about our culture, our history, and our universe in general, but having no way of asking them without the risk of appearing suspicious.

Datapads were a great alternative. I could learn anything I want through mom and dad's library. Though, I was never the most studious person so boredom usually followed.

Maybe it was better that I wasn't exactly academically inclined. The last thing I wanted was people figuring out that I knew more than any regular turian toddler should. That could only end one of two ways; either they'd haul my ass to a lab somewhere for testing, or they'd label me as some sort of prodigy.

I wasn't really in the mood to find out what turian testing involved, and I knew enough that I did not want to be considered a prodigy. Saren Arterius was a prodigy and look what happened to him. No thank you. I'll take the turian equivalent to a white-picket-fence upbringing any day. Assuming my assumptions were correct and this was 'canon' Mass Effect and there was a race of cyborg space squids out there, then I'd take any chance for normalcy I could get.

The first few years of my new life were fairly routine. Aetius, or dad as I grew to call him, wasn't home very much. From what I could tell, he was still in the military so I understood why he couldn't be home for weeks at a time. But the days he was at home, were some of the best days of my newfound childhood. I lost track of the number of times I used to wait by the entrance of our home, trying to get the drop on the man.

What? Like I said; I got bored with just reading. Not to mention some of the kiddie games Dad would play with me helped me adapt better to this foreign body.

Don't judge me, I was bored.

He'd always chortle and pat my head when my sneak attacks predictably failed. I'm sure to him it was hilarious. "You almost caught me off guard that time, soldier." He'd then pick me up, an action he knew I hated with a passion, and would storm through the rest of our home until mom shrieked at us to stop roughhousing. Aetius would then sit me down in his lap and hold a ball in front of my face, "Think you're fast enough to get it this time, soldier?"

And I'd always give the turian equivalent to a pout and try to swipe the plastic toy from his grasp.

Tacita, mom, was also a constant. I felt bad for the woman; she had to put up with dad and I. She was… an incredibly caring and gentle woman. I mean that. There's just no way I could possibly put into words how much she came to mean to me. Hell, that probably makes me sound like such a sap. She'd always read to me when dad was gone and she'd sing this strange lullaby when I was ever having a nightmare or couldn't sleep. Of course, I'd never admit to any of that. Ever.

Her words had a hauntingly beautiful quality to them. Like a songbird almost.

Mom's face was always bright and lit up with a smile. She moved with the grace and elegance of a cat. Her footsteps were so quite that, sometimes, I didn't even realize she was in a room. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that she used to be an infiltration specialist before she settled down with dad.

Of course, my routine life got shaken up a bit after Garrus was born.

* * *

><p><strong>2154 (Earth Standard Time)<strong>

I peered up at a crib in which the small bundled dinosaur-bird baby laid serenely.

Mom smiled and laid a hand upon my head. She had just come home from the hospital, looking exhausted, the blue face paint on her face smudged slightly.

"Tyrus, meet Garrus. Your new baby brother." She picked him up from his crib and held the future C-Sec officer in her grasp. He kicked out gently, not liking the sensation of being held, something with which I could relate. "What do you think?"

What did I think? I didn't know what to think. I was staring at one of the most influential turians in the history of the galaxy, and he just so happened to be my baby brother. What was I supposed to think? "He's small."

Tacita laughed, though the sound had a tired edge to it, "So were you." She then kneeled down to my level and offered the bundle to me. "Why don't you hold him?"

Panic at the unexpected request shot through me. Hold him? Oh, no. My head shook from side to side. No way. I'm horrible with kids. I've never had any siblings before. Was it normal for older siblings to hold their younger ones? Shit. I'm only four years old! How was she even sure me and my clumsy three fingers were coordinated enough to hold the thing? I could drop it and then I'd feel like an ass for the rest of my existence.

Before I could voice any argument, the bundle was laid gently into my hands and my childish talons clutched the smaller turian tightly.

Garrus immediately stopped struggling. His big, piercing blue eyes took in my face with the searching curiosity that only babies possessed. My mandibles twitched with apprehension as I tried for a grin.

He **was** small. Small and soft. His plates weren't hardened like mine were, but that would probably happen soon enough. It was hard to imagine that this was the same turian that would some day be conducting a war effort alongside Commander Shepard. Not all that intimidating right now.

Garrus' face split into a toothless smile, and he giggled like all children. One of his pudgy hands reached up as if to grasp my face.

Oh for the love of…

Why'd he have to be so… sickeningly adorable? Now I'd have to punch a wall to regain my manliness.

"See?" Tacita's smooth features brightened with amusement, "He likes you."

Ugh. Great, I guess.

Despite myself, a genuine smile worked it's way onto my face and my gaze turned gentle. Well, as far as brothers go, I could have had a lot worse. Having little badass of a brother wouldn't be so bad.

Then his small fingers managed to wrap around one of my left mandible and gave a painful tug. Garrus giggled as I cried out in discomfort. Oh you little bastard. I should have dropped you.

Tacita chuckled with mirth and carefully pried Garrus' fingers from my face, "It's bedtime, Tyrus. Why don't you say goodnight to your brother and get ready for bed. Daddy will be home soon."

I nodded, quietly muttering, "Goodnight, Garrus," as I handed him back to mom and then toddled off to bed.

Dad arrived home a little while later in the night. Unlike mom, I could hear his footsteps depressing against the soft carpeted floors of the apartment. Voices sounded from the opposite room. Mom and Dad's voices. They were hard to make out, but turians had slightly enhanced hearing, at least compared to humans, and every so often I would get pieces of the conversation.

"…were you?"

"You know… mission report… back in time."

"What about…? Join C-Sec after Tyrus…?

"Can't just…"

"To hell with…"

"You… rest."

"I need…"

Ah, it was **that** argument. Every so often, mom and dad had this one reoccurring fight about dad getting out of the military and taking a position at C-Sec. From my perspective, it was an inevitability that would eventually happen, if I was remembering my lore correctly. For them, it was still up for debate.

My hands pressed against the sides of my head. I hated when they argued.

Eventually their voices quieted down.

I sat up when the door of my room cracked open.

"What are you still doing up, Tyrus?"

"I'm not tired," I replied, "You tired?"

Dad chuckled in his deep flanging voice, apparently unfazed by the spat with mom. "I'm not tired, son. I'm just still adjusting to a different timezone is all."

My head cocked in question and he moved to sit at the edge of my bed. He must have just gotten back from a mission. I hadn't even thought that he would miss Garrus' birth. A small part of me frowned in confusion, but then what could he do? For turians', the mission came before everything else. I'm sure dad did everything he could to get back in time.

"The Hierarchy had my team and I on mission out into the Terminus." Dad elaborated, his eyes seemingly distant. He then seemed to look me over for the first time, and his mandibles turned up in a small smile, "It doesn't matter. I'm here now."

"Here now," I parroted back (give me a break, my vocabulary was still not all that advanced) before scooting over to give him room.

"I'm actually glad you're still awake, Tyrus. I have to tell you something." His gaze then turned serious and I saw the soldier side of my father shine through, the part he didn't usually show in those early days of my childhood.

Aetius stood from my bed and held out his hand for me to take. I slipped my small grasp within his and he led me back into Garrus' room. The nightlight that displayed the solar system circled over our heads, casting a dim light.

Aetius knelt beside me so that we were eye level. "Listen closely, Tyrus. What I'm about to tell you is very important, understand?"

I nodded solemnly, knowing that his next words were beyond significant. I only saw this side of him once before, when he was talking to a subordinate that had stopped by our apartment a year ago. Aetius expected me to commit this conversation to memory.

"You see Garrus over there?" His head inclined towards the crib, only a few feet away, and I nodded again. "He's your brother. Do you know what that means?"

I shook my head in response. 'Cause, really I didn't. I never had siblings before. Was there some kind of special code that the eldest was supposed to follow when it came to younger siblings in turian culture? Oh man, I hope not.

"It means," Aetius continued, "That you've got to watch out for him. It's your job to protect him and look after him. He'll look up to you and you've got to be his big brother. You can't show any weakness when he's around. Lead by example. Do you understand?"

Again, I nodded. Watch out for Garrus, got it. That's fine, I could do that. The little bastard had already wormed his way into my heart with his damned cuteness. Plus, he was family. Wasn't that what family was for? Taking care of each other?

"This is important, Tyrus." Dad reiterated, patting a hand on my head, "Promise me you'll look out for him."

I nodded again, "Yes, sir."

Dad nodded in acceptance, "Good." He then stood and put his hand on my back and led me back to my room.

I scrambled back into bed and Aetius moved to turn off the lights. The darkness descended on my room, leaving me alone with my thoughts until I fell asleep.

And life continued on. With the addition of a tiny Garrus crawling through the house. Dad continued to serve in the military and was home rarely, while mom did all the hard work of raising two boys. Of course, I helped out where I could, and I could handle the chores around the house all right. Even getting meals ready wasn't that much of a struggle. As long as I never had to reach for anything taller than the kitchen counter.

I also started attending school which was… weird.

Saying they were brainwashing kids isn't how I'd describe it, but yeah they were brainwashing kids.

The lessons were definitely geared towards the greatness that was the Hierarchy, but I guess that was part of being a turian. Service and duty above all else. Giving back the Hierarchy. Either way, I learned the motions well enough; smile, nod, and act like you understand it all. Pretty much my entire school career all over again. Never was much one for school and learning.

What'd you want from me? Garrus and Solana were the smart ones in the family. Damned siblings, making me look bad.

There was an aspect of the school I truly enjoyed: Fighting classes.

Everyone at the school was expected to one day be a soldier and thus we were all given hand-to-hand combat exercises to practice and study. Believe it or not, I was actually good at that kind of stuff. Maybe it was natural instincts of being an adult in a turian toddler body or maybe a combination of awesome genes from mom and dad, but I excelled in those combat exercises. A lot better than I did with alien languages and mass effect sciences.

Go ahead, call me an illiterate meat head. Get it out of your system. I can take it.

Being a soldier didn't quite scare me as much as it would have back in my old life. One reason was that I figured it would be a great way to learn how to defend myself, but there was another reason.

The idea of serving the community and the civic duty that drove them-us-was more than awe inspiring. Ideas like 'honor' and 'duty' were more than just words, they were values all turians lived by. It was actually very admirable to see in action.

The turian military wasn't just some armed force; it was an all-encompassing public works organization. We took care of our own. And I was, (as naive as it sounds), proud to be born into such a society.

Don't get me wrong, it was anything but perfect, but it still felt damn good to be part of something as widespread as the Hierarchy.

Of course, my opinion was biased. Aetius and Tacita taught me at a young age to give my all for others. My adult brain was easily able to pick up on all subtle nuances of their lessons and the stories of brave turian heroes dating back to the Iron age. Heroes that would sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Some of those stories were actually very inspiring.

That's not to say that they were intentionally trying to brainwash their kid. They were great parents, in my opinion. That's just how things were. Their parents taught them the same moral code of conduct just as their parents taught them and their parents taught them and so on and so forth since the Unification War. It was just one of those unspoken culture norms.

Despite all that, I still wanted to be a soldier for the Hierarchy, if not for the training then at least to make mom and dad proud.

And I meant what I said, mom and dad were great parents. Sure, dad wasn't always around and mom was always on him about getting out of the service, but he was a good man and I couldn't ask for better parents.

And Garrus was an alright brother. Once he got passed that whole pulling-at-my-mandible phase.

I was soldiering through and slowly, I got used to the idea of living my new life as Tyrus Vakarian. Even if I was slightly less handsome then I used to be.

Then came the Relay 314 Incident or, as the humans call it, the First Contact War.

* * *

><p><strong>2157<strong>

It didn't matter who you were in the Turian Hierarchy, at some point or another you were a soldier.

That's what we were good at; being soldiers.

So when the humans tried to activate a mass relay and we took the shot, it might as well have been fucking battle cry.

Turians reverted back to doing what we did best and just like that, mom was called back into the service.

I would learn later that Mom was one of the team leaders of Blackwatch along with Dad and that the two were requested personally by the Primarch to lead their strike teams. For those of you that weren't born on Palaven, that's like having the ruler of your entire species ask you over for drinks. You can't exactly say no.

I didn't much like the idea of going to war, but like every other turian, I stood resolutely behind the Hierarchy's decision. Don't get me wrong, it was a stupid war. This whole mess could have been avoided if we just stopped being arrogant dicks for like five seconds.

But my place wasn't to question, just follow orders. In the end, I simply resigned myself to watching the events unfold. There was nothing I could do about it right now. I was just a kid. Besides, debating the ethics of a war sounded like a topic that someone smarter than me should bring up. I knew my limitations, and the moment anything intellectual came up, I was out of the running.

"Tyrus." My father crouched down beside me. He was leaving. Both he and mom were marching off to war. The thought didn't exactly inspire a warm fuzzy feeling. "You know what you have to do?"

I nodded. Of course I knew what he was talking about. We didn't have any other family who could stay with us, which means I had to be the man of the house. It wasn't as bad as you might think. Turians were raised even at the age of eight to be self-sufficient. The only difference was that I had to take care of Garrus and myself. That shouldn't be to difficult; I've been helping mom since I was four. The only problem was I'd have to miss school, but dad had that already covered. A social worker would come by every other day to check on Garrus and I and make sure I was keeping up with my studies. "Only open the door for the social worker, money's in the kitchen drawer, and take care of Garrus."

"That's my little soldier." Aticus patted me on the shoulder with a grin. The pride shining in his eyes made me stand just a bit taller.

Garrus sniffled at my side. Turians didn't really cry, but if we did have tear ducts, he'd be bawling. The future C-Sec officer now stood on his own two feet, but was still much too young to be marching off to fight. I grasped his hand in my own. Big brother instincts kicking into gear.

Mom picked Garrus up in her talons and gave him a hug that he returned with a desperate grip.

"You be good, Garrus. Don't give your brother any trouble like you usually do."

"Don't go." Garrus sniveled. He was still young. He didn't really understand what was going on. All he knew was that mom and dad were leaving for an unspecified amount of time.

And just like that, the two were gone.

That just left me with a hollow feeling in my chest and a crying turian at my side. My head turned up to the darkened sky, and a fat drop of rain impacted against my face plate.

The rest of the day, I tried to assert as sense of normalcy back into our lives. Of course, I failed miserably, but I gave a solid effort.

Garrus was completely unresponsive. The rain outside had worsened so we couldn't play Colonies, which was his favorite game to play, and I had to coerce him to eat his serving at dinner.

"C'mon, Garrus." I muttered, holding the plate full of dextro amino based meat, fresh from the grill. Dextro amino food had an odd taste to it. Sweeter than you would expect. I didn't mind the change, but the thought of never having a burger ever again was something I didn't want to dwell on, so I tried to avoid thinking about it.

Garrus shook his head from side to side, "Not hungry."

"But you have to eat." I fired back, "It's Mylock steak, Garrus. Just the way mom makes it, I promise you'll like it."

He shook his head once again, continuing to stare at the same spot on the table. I scratched at my growing crest of horns with a frustrated sigh. Thunder sounded outside. Thunder usually made Garrus jump, but now, he barely even acknowledge the sound.

"When are they coming back?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "If you don't want Mylock steak, I can make you something else."

Again he shook his head.

I resisted the urge to smack myself with the plate and instead, picked up a nibble of meat. "You're not gonna make me do the whole spaceship thing are you?" Mom would sometimes do that airplane noises trick with our food, but instead of an airplane it was called a spaceship, which was fitting in this day and age.

Garrus mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"What?" I asked, further confused.

He turned his gaze up towards me, "I miss them."

A palm ran over my face, and I glanced at one of the windows. What a crappy day. "I know, Gar. I miss them too, but you know they'd want you to eat, right?"

He nodded finally and slid the plate his way.

We spent the rest of the night in front of the holo display, watching the unfolding news on the Relay 314 incident. I don't know why we were watching the news. Usually I would pop in a vid and we would spend the rest of the night arguing over who was the coolest character until mom or dad broke us up. But now mom and dad weren't here and I didn't feel like watching any kind of movie. Maybe we were just hoping to see a glimpse of mom and dad on the camera, I don't know.

I retrieved our blankets from our rooms and tossed the half eaten snacks I had made for us.

When I came back into the living room, I heard the faint sounds of Garrus sniveling. Looking at the holo display, I saw legions of soldiers prepping for battle. Displaying the full might of the turian Hierarchy, "Alright that's enough for tonight." I muttered, turning off the images.

"Mommy?" Garrus sniffed sadly, "Daddy?"

I threw the blankets over his form and brought him in closer. He snuggled against my side. Time to play older brother. "I'm gonna tell you a secret, Garrus. You have to promise not to tell anyone."

His head bobbed in agreement.

"I mean it," I gave him a mock serious stare for emphasis, "Don't tell anyone I told you this.

"I promise."

"Alright," I nodded, "We have the coolest parents in the entire galaxy."

"We do?"

My mandibles twitched up in a grin, "You bet we do. Dad and mom are out in the galaxy right now, fighting all the bad guys so they can protect us."

Garrus turned away from me, "Bad guys? Like in the stories?"

"Yeah," I stated with conviction, happy that he understood. "Just like in the stories."

"But," his piercing blue gaze turned to me again, shining with fear "What if the bad guys find us, and mommy and daddy aren't home?"

Crap. Really? Observant little guy. "Don't you worry. Mom and dad won't let the bad guys get to us. They're gonna be here, just like they always are." I grinned with confidence. "Now get some sleep, Garrus. Maybe tomorrow we'll play Colonies. That'd be fun, huh?"

Garrus nodded hesitantly, not seeming convinced. "Okay, Ty."

I went about tucking the blankets in closer to him. I don't know why I did this since I already tucked him in, but maybe it was just a nervous habit or something.

We laid there in silence for a long time, listening to the tropical showers raining down outside, "Ty?"

My flanging voice hummed in answer, wondering what he might want to talk about now.

"I gonna be brave enough to fight the bad guys on my own one day."

I shifted my posture so I could peer down at him. His face was turned away from me and his small hands were clutching the blanket much too tightly. "I want to be a hero, like mommy and daddy."

I paused, but only for a short moment before nodding, "You will be, Garrus. You're gonna be a great hero. I bet they'll write stories about you too one day."

His grip on the blanket seemed to relax as he muttered a response that I didn't hear over the thunder. I kept my eyes on him until I heard his breathing even out. Once I was sure he was asleep, I carefully tugged myself away from his grasp and lifted myself from the bedding. My taloned feet clicked softly on the floor as I went about locking up the house to keep out all the bad guys. Break-ins were rare in turian society, but not unheard of. It's better to be safe than sorry. I stopped short just as I neared the family's rifle collection.

Behind a window of locked glass was an entire set of firearms. The guns were completely functional and I had a feeling that there were a number of smaller firearms hidden in my parent's bedroom and around the household. Out of Garrus' and my reach of course. Such a sight was common in turian homes. All the civilians were prepared for war. My hand ran over the glass, stopping near an old Phaeston rifle. My father's first military issued gun, now outdated but still armed and ready.

I looked back to the bedroom where Garrus continued sleeping soundly on the couch.

Garrus, my little brother.

My eyes shifted back at the rifle and I gave a small decisive nod.

He will be a hero.

I'd make damn sure of that.


	3. Chapter 3

Karik Meentra hated his job.

The sun hung high in the sky, casting it's light on the cityscape in the heart of Palaven's capitol city, Cipritine. It was a warm day even for Palaven standards and the humidity caused scales to itch under his plates. Not for the first time, he felt overly exposed without the familiar weight of armor, the suit a poor substitute for protection. The apartment buildings here, like many buildings built during Cipritine's Golden Age, were the uniform metallic grey. The building he was facing stretched up for miles, no doubt making for a spectacular view at the top that Karik would have been tempted to appreciate better had he not been here on business.

He stepped out of his skycar easily, despite the prosthetic leg clanking and whirring ever so slightly as it stamped cement. A souvenir from his final tour of duty and a constant reminder from a lifetime long past. The prosthetic was old and he hardly even took note of it anymore. He breathed in the hot morning air and took a moment to grab the data pad in passenger seat.

Karik would be the first to admit he was not a spectacular soldier, thus he tried not to complain much about his current occupation as a worker for the Hierarchy's Military Care Unit. Old squad mates would joke that they wouldn't trade spots with him for all the credits in the galaxy. A boring errand boy that checked up on families and the elderly? No thanks, they would say. But they were bred for firefights and Karik took solace in the quiet and consistent comfort of paperwork. So he tried not to complain.

Karik maneuvered through the crowds that bustled between him an the apartment building with well practiced ease.

No, the reason for his ire had more to do with the current state of the Hierarchy rather than his specific role within. The entire government was mobilizing for nothing, in his opinion. Turians were always in some type of conflict. On some mission of justice. This police action against the 'primitives', as the news stations were calling them, that were discovered near Relay 314 was no different than any other decade in Hierarchy history. The only thing worth note about the conflict was the fact that this new race of primitives were a spacefaring species. No doubt the whole fiasco would become an intergalactic affair before all was said and done.

Yet Karik knew the reasoning behind the Primarch's military declaration of open hostility. He knew it as well as any other turian. Fighting insurrectionists, terrorists, and pirates was not a true trial by fire. No songs would not be sung for destruction of a slaving vessel or the protection of a merchant convoy. Turians were soldiers and soldiers needed a war. They couldn't resist the challenge.

He understood it, but Karik wished that didn't leave so many bratty children parentless.

He nodded at the landlord, displaying his identification. That was all it took to get her to unlock the elevators. He stepped in and rode it up to the one of the top floors.

It wasn't a horrible system, he reflected. Most kids from soldiering family's had relatives out of the service that could take care of them. Even if their was no immediate relatives, there was usually somebody slightly related that would claim custody. It was easy to find someone responsible with blood tests and clan markings. Spirits, most families still tended to live close to turians of the same clans and look after their own, despite the Hierarchy having disbanded the use of clans after the unification wars. You could never really stamp out bonds like that no matter how hard you tried and turians knew better than to underestimate the strength of packs. Karik himself came from a large family, and his white clan tattoos usually got him a few friendly nods from others with similar markings even if he didn't know them personally.

But not all children were so fortunate. Some were born to families with very few relatives and relations. The Vakarians were one such family.

Karik had seen their files or rather the lack of files. Both parents had inked out service records which either meant they were in Blackwatch or the 26th Armiger Legion. It was impossible to say which and it wasn't his job to pry. Only to check up on their two kids currently living alone and make sure they hadn't burned the building down yet. He glanced down at the data pad in his hands and frowned. Karik also had to make sure one of the brats was doing his schoolwork for the academy. Perfect.

This would be a short visit, he decided. The kids were both too young to be on their own, despite what the laws might state. Karik just needed to find reason to send them both down to Military Care HQ with the rest of the brats that didn't have anyone to care for them and the parents could just pick them up whenever they finished their service. He'd be on with the rest of his day in no time.

* * *

><p>"Done."<p>

I stood straight up from where I was kneeling beside the glass case, hiding my surprise behind a carefully stoic expression. That's one thing I'll admit to loving about my new body; facial expression could be limited to a bare minimal. Most turians would dominate in poker. I turned to find Garrus' wide eyes staring expectantly up at me, plate clutched in his talons and offered up to me as evidence to his deeds.

Leaning casually back against the gun case, I raised a brow plate, "You forgot the vegetables there, boss."

Bringing the plate back down to his level, Garrus glared at the bits of green still on his plate. As if he could scare them away.

Snorting, I turned back to inspect the glass case, or more specifically the combination code barring me from entry. "Yeah, they aren't too tasty, huh? Ya still got to eat 'em."

"No, they're weird, Ty."

As far as I knew, there were few universal constants; kids hating vegetables happened to be one of them. "Tough, boss. They're good for you."

Garrus plopped himself down on the floor next to me as I worked. The pout that tugged at his mandibles might have swayed a weaker man, but he'd have to try harder than that to get out of this. We descended into companionable silence as my three fingers typed at the hologram. After a short while, his voice broke the hush, "Its quiet."

"Don't try and change the subject," I muttered, concentrating more on guessing the combination than answering him. I had already gone through all of our namedays and mom and dad's joining date. What other series of numbers were there?

"I miss when it was loud."

"We'll play some music later or something," I grunted.

Garrus climbed up onto my back. I ignored his sharp talons digging into my sides while he and peered over my shoulder, "What are you even doing? That's mom and dad's." His subharmonics echoed, _You shouldn't touch it, Tyrus._

I knew kids shouldn't be handling dangerous firearms and mom and dad locked up the guns for a reason. They weren't toys. But I needed to start sometime and technically, I am an adult. Sitting here while the Reapers inched ever closer is not something a responsible adult should do.

What? I hated feeling helpless. It left a sick feeling in my stomach. Like I was about to take a test without ever studying or being forced to give a speech without notecards. It paid to be prepared, in my opinion. But yes, he was probably right in his judgement. Was I going to admit that? Of course not. "And you should eat your food, bro." As an afterthought, I trilled a reassurance from my sub-vocals. _I'll be careful._

Subharmonics were a strange thing, just another part of turian communication that I had yet to fully grasp. For most turians it was instinctual, but I had to consciously use the vocal chords that would express meaning that only turians could understand. It was like trying to teach yourself to use a sense that never existed before. I preferred the straightforward voice communication, but it would be considered rude to not respond with subharmonics in some cases.

"I wanna spar." Garrus leapt off my back. "Teach me what you learn from Academy."

I snorted, scratching behind my growing crest of horns "What do we say?"

He crossed his arms, "Please?"

"Damn right. And maybe after you finish your lunch."

"Why?"

"Cause I said so." Finally huffing in frustration, failing for the hundredth time in guessing the code, I turned to the plate resting on the ground. Picking up on of the green bean like plants, I examined it. They were called kaylocs and they did taste terrible, but they were good for a growing turian. Tossing it into my maw and shredding it with my sharp incisors, I grinned down at Garrus, fighting back a gag from the bitter taste of the food. The texture reminded me of a spinach leaf. "See? Delicious."

"Liar," Garrus proclaimed, grabbing a kayloc for himself and eating it. "They taste stupid. I bet you're just scared to lose"

"As if." I grabbed another kayloc before casting one last dejected look at the rifles glinting behind the glass, resolving to try again later tonight. "And I wouldn't lie about such amazing cuisine."

Garrus picked up the last piece of food in response, "That's not a word. Stop making up words and fight me."

"Cuisine? Yeah, it is." I then bent down and retrieved the now empty plate. "And look, you've already finished them off. Not that bad, huh?"

He nodded, "Guess not."

The warm sunlight shone through the windows of the house, bathing the rooms in a light glow. After cleaning the plate in the kitchen, I made my way into the living area where the light from the windows warmed the furniture and tiles beneath my talons. Collapsing onto the couch, I decided on taking a short nap after my failure with the display case. The best thing about being a kid again was taking naps and not feeling guilty about it afterwards.

Unfortunately, Garrus had other plans.

"Ty," he began tentatively.

I responded by pretending to snore.

"Hey, Tyrus."

"Tyrus…Ty," His subharmonics expressing his exasperation, as he climbed onto the couch.

"Ty, you can't go to sleep it's not nap time." He pounded on the sofa cushions, moving to crawl over me. "Ty, wake up."

"Hmph," I finally grunted, rolling over onto my back and subsequently throwing him off. He made a short yelp sound as he tumbled to the floor. Cracking an eye open to fix the kid with a mock glare, I finally answered, "What?"

Garrus narrowed his gaze from where he landed on the floor, "You said we could fight after I finished my vegetables."

"I said maybe," I grunted rolling back over, hiding the twitching of my mandibles.

Garrus shook my shoulder, "Quit being stupid. Let's do something."

"Napping is something."

He snorted, shaking me harder. "Something fun."

"Sleeping is fun." Kid just wouldn't quit. His persistence would be respectable if it weren't so annoying. Or directed at me.

"No, it's not," he complained, pulling at my mandible. "Why are you so boring?"

Smacking his hand away, I shifted into a sitting position and gave him a serious look, "I figure one of us has to be."

Garrus glared at me, or at least he tried to glare. It would have been more effective if he wasn't half my size. "That doesn't make any sense."

I lifted myself off from the couch and flicked him on the forehead. Partly to chide him, but mostly because it was fun to get a rise out of him. "You'll understand when you're older."

He continued glaring and holding his forehead while I strode towards the front door. I stopped just short and crossed my arms, fixing Garrus with an expectant look.

He was silent for a moment before looking up at me with hope filled eyes, "Roof?"

Have you ever had a turian toddler look up at you with big round, innocent eyes? It was hard to say no to a face like that. Puppy dog's ain't got nothing on turian toddlers.

I nodded an affirmative and only just had enough time to push the door open as he barreled out of the house. It was then that I allowed myself the smile.

Taking one last moment to lock up, my eyes fixated on the gun case. My smile faded. A subtle reminder, a responsibility and a promise. I wondered if it was healthy to be so fascinated with weapons that were made to kill and maim. Probably not, but normal was overrated anyway.

I walked out and locked the door behind me.

Ever since Garrus and I were old enough to really fight, we've been heading to the rooftop of the building. Unlike our apartment, there's plenty of space and room for us to climb and fight without having to worry about breaking anything in the house. Plus we'd never get int trouble with our parents. Even after mom and dad left we've been going to the roof. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if they were ever aware of our extracurricular activity. Mom probably had an idea, but I don't think dad ever found out. Mom was always very observant.

Turians were amazingly agile and quick, it didn't take either of us long to decide that sparring was our new favorite activity. Sure, it was a bit clumsy, uncoordinated, and I usually won, but Garrus liked learning about the combat moves they taught us at the Academy and I was all too eager to teach. The kid was good too. I couldn't help the small twinge of pride at the kid's progress. He really would be a great fighter some day.

We made our way up the stairwell, partly because it was good exercise but mostly because the elevators were slow as shit. Our apartment was already pretty close to the top of the apartment building so at least we didn't have to worry about tiring ourselves out just climbing the stairs.

"C'mon, Tyrus!" Garrus called out to me from a landing. He bounced on the balls of his feet, talons clicking against the metal stairs. How did so much energy exist in one kid? That didn't seem possible.

"What's the hurry, Gar?" I questioned with a smirk, stepping onto the same landing as him, "The roof isn't going anywhere."

"Yeah," he turned his head with a pout already twitching at his mandibles. "But you're slow."

"Am not."

"Are too," he smirked at me. "Bet its cause you're getting so old. It's okay Ty, it happens to the best of us."

Letting out a short snort in response, I swung an arm over his shoulder. "Don't be such a pest," I groused. He shrugged out from under my arm and gave me grin that made my own look like a mere shadow. He then proceeded to race me up to the roof.

The sun blazed like an unholy light in the sky. It cast it's piercing beams across Cipritine's skyline, shining off the skyscrapers and bathing the world in it's warm glow. I gazed over Palaven's capitol for a a brief second. The city pulsed with energy and life, like a living creature. Skycars zoomed past the building and holographic billboards hung suspended in the air. The city stretched on but at the very edge, beyond sight, there was a wall that separated the city form the wild jungles.

Garrus and I stood facing each other on the roof top. He crouched, ready to pounce, but he knew better now then to try and attack first. Smirking, I beckoned him forward, daring him to make the first move.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Shorter chapter, mostly because it's been awhile and I need to ease myself back into the story writing process.<strong>

**I'll be ****honest, this was gonna be a one shot type of deal. Just something I'd write down to get out of my head. But then all you guys started reviewing and PM and the idea just wouldn't go away.**

**So I kept writing and thinking. **

**What do you guys say? Wanna find out where this ride takes us?**

**Eh, I'm just rambling here. Thanks for all those that encouraged me to keep this going. Your opinions and criticisms will always be appreciated.**

**Till next time**

**-Reckless**


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